Elkhart, Indiana Street Races To Return?

Elkhart, IN Street races To Return?

According to The Elkhart Truth newspaper, Mayor Tim Neese is leading plans on reviving the city’s famous go-kart street races. The races grew in popularity from 1989-1995. They were cancelled for the 1996 year after a lawsuit halted the planning and organization process and high liability costs were realized. Until now there have been no promising plans to resurrect the downtown street races.

Mayor Neese is not confirming that the races are a done done deal but he seems to be working on it. The races would be held either in downtown Elkhart, IN or in nearby Goshen, with added options being a grandstand event during the county fair also. All would hopefully bring in some desired revenue to downtown stores and businesses, but according to The Truth Neese is, “Not interested so much in making money for the city. If I can, that is my preference, (but) that’s not the sole objective. It’s about an activity that residents — whether they live in the city or they live in the county — can enjoy.”

Neese has also been working with the local fair board about the event planning and possibly hosting the event at the fairgrounds. Hosting it at the fairgrounds makes the most sense. They have all the infrastructure, services and the audience to support the event as well.

Whatever decision is made, fair attraction or street race, it would be great to see the Elkhart Grand Prix get revived. Go karts, hay bales, and street racing. Its a recipe for awesomeness. Here’s hoping Mayor Neese and the city can bring the race back!

Check out this old footage of the race:

I inherited the "car gene" from my brother. He painted car models. I crashed them. After a short stint in college on an FSAE team, I realized that I'm better at fixing cars than I am at driving them. That took me around the U.S. and Canada playing with race cars of all sorts; Formula Fords, MX5 Cup cars, and Porsche Cup cars.

For the last decade I've been lucky enough to meet great people, see awesome tracks, and get my hands dirty on a little bit of everything. Now I'm writing about cars. A little different from driving and working on them, but just as fun!